Fuck

Fuck (stylized as F★CK) is a 2005 American documentary film by director Steve Anderson about the word "fuck". The film argues that the word is an integral part of societal discussions about freedom of speech and censorship. It examines the term from perspectives which include art, linguistics, society and comedy, and begins with a segment from the 1965 propaganda film Perversion for Profit. Scholars and celebrities analyze perceptions of the word from differing perspectives. Journalist Sam Donaldson talks about the versatility of the word, and comedian Billy Connolly states it can be understood despite one's language or location. Musician Alanis Morissette comments that the word contains power because of its taboo nature. The film features the last recorded interview of author Hunter S. Thompson before his suicide. Scholars, including linguist Reinhold Aman, journalism analyst David Shaw and Oxford English Dictionary editor Jesse Sheidlower, explain the history and evolution of the word. Language professor Geoffrey Nunberg observes that the word's treatment by society reflects changes in our culture during the 20th century.

Anderson was exposed to public conceptions surrounding the word "fuck" by comedian George Carlin's monologue "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". He named the film Fuck despite anticipating problems with marketing. Animator Bill Plympton provided sequences illustrating key concepts in the film. The documentary was first shown at the AFI Film Festival on November 7, 2005, at ArcLight Hollywood in Hollywood.

Fuck' s reviews were generally mixed. Film critic A. O. Scott called the documentary a battle between advocates of morality and supporters of freedom of expression. The Washington Post and the New York Daily News criticized its length and other reviewers disliked its repetitiveness – the word "fuck" is used 857 times in the film. In his 2009 book Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties, law professor Christopher M. Fairman called the movie "the most important film using 'fuck'".